A Look Inside Italian Politics at a Complicated Time for the Country

The 2018 Italian Elections were a "Tsunami with no winner" according to political scientist Alessandro Chiaramonte. Last night, September 3, in the Limonaia of Villa La Pietra, Chiaramonte and fellow political scientist Roberto D'Alimonte provided NYU Florence students with an overview of the March 2018 election that produced Italy's current government led by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conti, the 5-Star Movement's Luigi Di Maio, and the League's Matteo Salvini, one of the only governments in Western Europe, Chiaramonte underlined, composed entirely of populist parties. The rise of this populist coalition was favored by complicated economic and political conditions, resentment against 'establishment elites' against the backdrop of several prominent corruption trials, and the exploitation of xenophobic sentiment linked to Europe's refugee crisis and immigration. Italians are living through a moment of profound change, according to Roberto D'Alimonte. Students raised important questions during the discussion about economic policy and the Euro, racism and xenophobia, and direct democracy. Similarities to the current political moment in the U.S. were noted.